Zlaket's Market: Lessons in longevity in Garden Grove

Each morning, David Zlaket and his father, Leo, cook hot entrees, and each afternoon they hand-scoop sodas at the family's market, which has been a fixture on Garden Grove's Main Street for 85 years. Zlaket's Market isn't what it was in 1927, but then, neither is Orange County.

Over those decades, Orange County has changed from farmland to suburbs with more than 3 million residents. And Zlaket's has evolved from a general store that ran monthly tabs for farmhands to a deli and purveyor of nostalgia for two-income families.

Leo Zlaket Sr., who opened the market in 1927, probably wouldn't recognize Main Street or the shop, but no business survives three generations in an increasingly diverse community without making changes.

Leo Zlaket Sr. ran the market until the 1950s, although he continued to live above the market and worked there every day. Son George took over and, when he retired in 1988, his brother Leo Jr. and his wife, Virginia, took over. Now Leo's son, David, and his wife, Tina, manage day-to-day operations.

"We've always tried to cater to customer needs," David Zlaket said. "That's what you have to do in business. We have changed as customer needs changed."

In an interview with the Register, Dave Zlaket talked about nurturing a family enterprise and shared some lessons about business longevity.

Q. What was Zlaket's Market like in the early years?

A. My great-grandfather was born in Lebanon and settled in Colorado. My grandfather Leo was born in 1899 in Colorado, and his brothers all had markets at one time or other. His brother Phil owned a market and gas station on First Street in Santa Ana from 1925 until the 1950s.

When my grandfather started Zlaket's Market in Garden Grove in 1927 it was the Roaring Twenties. It was good times before the stock market crash. Orange County was all agriculture and we catered to farmworkers and families. They bought in bulk and bought dry goods. They bought on credit and paid once a month. We had cabinets with drawers where we kept their tallies.

In the Depression, the family just had to weather it. We have a strong family, so the brothers helped each other out. Once, Grandpa visited Uncle Phil's store and it was empty because he couldn't afford product. Grandpa gave him $5,000. He didn't ask Grandma, didn't sign any papers.

In the '50s, supermarkets came in, so we had to find our niche. We became a specialty meat market with the best cuts. We set ourselves apart by top quality and customer service. People would buy a side of beef, and we would cut it up for them, and they'd store it in a home freezer.

Q. How did the business change under your parents?

A. I was born in 1971 and grew up in the store. My parents lived above the store until I was 2 years old. My mom worked in the store, too, and my grandma, who lived upstairs, was my baby-sitter. We have pictures of me in an apron in the store at age 4 or 5.

When my parents bought the business, they invested in the catering department for meals for offices and meetings. They made salads and sandwiches for lunches. They took out aisles of groceries and put in some seating. My parents went to fancy food shows in New York and San Francisco and the store trended toward hard-to-find products from small, independent purveyors of fine food, such as Stonewall Kitchen or J. Lee Roy's sauces.

Q. What are some of the more recent changes?

A. The deli is still a good part of the business. We offer hot and cold entrees that we change every day. Lifestyles changed. People used to cook at home more, and now two-worker households eat out more. We added hot lunches for private schools, but this year we cut back to only elementary schools. In these tough times we have cut back on the specialty products because people are not spending $8 or $9 for a jar of jelly.

We're known for old-fashioned sodas: Nehi, Frosty's Dad's Bubble Up. We have the largest selection in Orange County. We also have old-fashioned candy: Dots, Jujubes.

Q. How important has it been for the business to change and evolve?

A. A business must satisfy customers. You have to see what works. The school catering works on small profit margins, and our food and fuel costs are going up and workers' comp insurance is more, but we still have to deliver lunches for $4 each. So we have scaled back on high schools and do just four elementary schools this year.

You have to be open to change. You can't be sentimental about a product if it doesn't sell. You have to listen to what customer needs are. They don't necessarily verbalize it, but they tell you by what they buy.

Q. What was the toughest time for Zlaket's Market?

A. Each era had good and bad times. Dad says this is the worst we have ever seen. He wasn't here in the Depression but he has been in the store for 71 years. People say the economy is getting better, but I don't see it. Customers, too, are still struggling. All I can do is pray for better days.

Q. Have you ever thought about doing something else for a living?

A. Absolutely. In college I was concert director and interned at a talent agency. Then I worked at a management company for a record label. But I never really left the store. I came back full time in 1995 because Dad was ill. As much fun as I had in the music business, I wanted to have a family, and touring wasn't a life for family.

As passionate as I am about the store, I'm freshening my résumé and keeping my options open. My parents are still the owners on paper, and Dad works in the store every day and Mom is always here when needed. My wife comes in and works every day. I'm the youngest grandchild (of Leo Sr.), and I remember him fondly. He worked hard, loved his family and made this a place he wanted to come to every day. I try to do that too.